MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team was unable to get past perennial power Middlebury College on Tuesday afternoon, falling by a 12-7 final to the Panthers in non-conference action at Alumni Stadium.
 
While the Cardinals scored late in the second quarter to trim the gap to 7-5 heading into the halftime intermission, the Panthers clamped down on defense and outscored Plattsburgh State, 5-2, over the final 30 minutes of play to post the win.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-5 overall with the loss and next hosts the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday, March 28, at 4 p.m. Middlebury rises to 3-2 overall with the victory and next visits Bowdoin College on Saturday, March 24, at 1 p.m.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from senior midfielder Henry Riehl, freshman midfielder Will Brossman and junior attackman Michael McCormack, while Plattsburgh State countered with markers from senior midfielder Billy Moller (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) and sophomore midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) to trim the gap to 3-2 with 2:05 left in the first quarter. Junior attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) earned an assist on Moller's score. Middlebury took a 4-2 lead with a goal by sophomore attackman Danny Jacobs with 0.8 seconds left in the first quarter, giving the Panthers some separation heading into the second stanza.
 
Moller converted on a feed from freshman attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) 51 seconds into the second quarter to pull within one, while McCormack and sophomore attackman Chase Goree scored for Middlebury midway through the period to give the home team a 6-3 advantage. Senior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) tallied on a Moller feed with 2:26 left in the first half before McCormack struck again with 1:27 remaining. Litchauer connected with Kane for a goal with 39 seconds left to draw the Cardinals within two at 7-5 heading into the intermission.
 
McCormack scored 1:25 into the third quarter to give Middlebury an 8-5 cushion, while sophomore attackman A.J. Kucinski tallied with 3:48 left in the frame to make it a four-goal game. Hubbard countered less than a minute later to draw the Cardinals within three (9-6) heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Panthers once again relied on a McCormack goal, his fifth of the game, to open up a period. Hubbard found twine with 9:54 left to complete the hat trick, while Middlebury's Goree cashed in on a Kucinski feed on an extra-man opportunity with 6:37 remaining. Senior midfielder Wes Quinzani scored a man-down goal with 3:45 left in regulation to spell the final score of 12-7.
 
Hubbard and Moller keyed the Plattsburgh State attack, while Hubbard scoring three times and Moller tallying three points on two goals and one assist. Senior face-off specialist Travis Mauro (Northport, N.Y./Northport) scooped up a team-high four ground balls.
 
For Middlebury, McCormack led the way with five goals, while sophomore midfielder Jake Madnick collected a game-high six ground balls. Freshman midfielder Laurence Jackson caused two turnovers to help pace the defense.
 
Middlebury finished with a 51-32 edge in shots and held a 23-16 advantage in ground balls. The Panthers also went 18-for-22 on face-offs. In transition, Plattsburgh State went 15-for-18, while Middlebury went 12-for-16. The Panthers scored on one of four extra-man opportunities, while the Cardinals were scoreless in six chances with the extra attacker.
 
Senior goalie Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) made 12 saves in the loss for Plattsburgh State, while junior goalie Charles Midgley turned aside eight shots in the win for Middlebury.